A War-Time Seder Table: Ideas for Lifting the Holiday Meal
War is not exactly an inspiration for setting a festive table, and it is not easy to prepare for the holiday between alerts and sirens. Here are a few ideas to help upgrade the Seder table with what is available at home and nearby.
Dror Golan, designer, drorgolan.com: “Even when we are celebrating in the smallest possible circle, we still need to do it properly. I suggest using an agricultural element, which also forms the basis of our food, raw materials that are already part of our living environment. One of the important principles in table design is to choose a few elements, or one element, and repeat it many times. That creates visual strength, harmony and a table that looks pleasant. For example, a lemon table. I pick lemons from the tree in my garden, which is producing a generous amount of fruit at this time of year. If you do not have such a tree, you can buy them, and later use them in the kitchen. Take bowls and plates of all kinds of sizes, simply pile lemons on them and scatter them across the table. Another option is to find beauty in things we are not used to seeing as decoration, celery stalks, green onions, asparagus, bok choy, in short, everything. Put them in jars and bottles, and you will have a perfect table. And one last tip, no less important, is words. Take a piece of paper and write a few kind words for each person seated at the table. You can cut paper into strips and make a napkin ring or a plate band from it.”
Mor Azuz Dror, food and lifestyle stylist, Instagram: @moretoshare: “This year I am setting the Seder table in a less tightly composed way, more eclectic, nonchalant and free, with a collection of dishes, memories and longing. I have tableware, textiles and accessories that I have collected over the years, and I enjoy combining styles, periods and materials. In these days, it is important to me to create a romantic table that reflects cautious optimism, longing and hope. You can place layers of tablecloths and linen fabrics in light shades loosely on the table, and they do not even have to be ironed, there is something precise about the imperfect look of linen. Items with a personal and family history will add to the atmosphere. For example, in my case, a flower vase and soup plates from my grandmother, antique silver cutlery from my parents, a 150-year-old Passover plate bought at a market in Paris in the 1950s. Alongside them I choose contemporary local ceramic plates by Lior Shahar from Studio 1220, and plates bought in a vintage shop in Scotland. Flowers are an inseparable part of the table. You can go out to the garden or a nearby field, pick wildflowers and scatter them in vases, in a wild, unarranged composition. There is movement, life and breath in that.”
Another small tip, go to the scarf drawer in the wardrobe: bandanas and various other scarves can replace classic cloth or paper napkins, serve as colorful napkins, upgrade the table and bring a personal statement and unexpected style. Instead of a regular fold, you can simply tie them in a soft knot for a relaxed look. You can also add a sprig of rosemary or olive and bring a bit of green, fragrant nature into the home.
